


The Past of Maruyama Aya

by Varewulf



Series: Bandori Superpowers AU [11]
Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: AU, F/F, Yuri, lore dump, what if
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 01:01:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17012553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Varewulf/pseuds/Varewulf
Summary: As a slightly different addition to the setting, we look at former magical girl Maruyama Aya. When you've saved the world for good, what do you do next?





	The Past of Maruyama Aya

**Author's Note:**

> Holy... while this didn't reach the length of the SayoTsugu fic, it still got longer than I expected. I suppose the lore dump at the end is in part to blame for that.
> 
> Note on the previous fic: I guess it makes more sense that Moca would call Rinko "Rinko-san" or "Rinko-senpai" rather than "Rin-chan". I think I'll stick with "Rinko-san" in the future.
> 
> So I have one more introduction to make, and it's not quite the same as the others. I wasn't sure if a magical girl would really fit in this setting, considering what I had in mind for how the others got their powers, but I was thinking the same about a vampire as well. Including Chisato as a vampire was in part to set this up. Once I had decided on one, I felt I needed the other. If Aya was to be a former magical girl, I needed some way for her to be discovered. So I figured that vampires probably have some way of sensing that sort of power.

Hi. My name is Maruyama Aya, and I'm not quite like most people. You see, I'm a magical girl! Or rather, I used to be. I was too good at it, and now I'm not needed any longer.

I haven't even thought about this in years, but recent events have brought it back to mind.

Let's see, it started when I was nearly 10. It was about a week before my 10th birthday. I'd have to check a calendar to be sure, but I remember it was a Saturday. I was contacted by the Guardians. That's what they call themselves. I know, not the most original name, but I never got the impression they were particularly creative. They're the ones responsible for choosing, and empowering, magical girls. A spirit of theirs appeared, and said I was chosen to be to be humanity's protector. To keep the world safe. I said yes, right away. I was 10, why wouldn't I? Well, technically still 9.

I'm not exactly sure how or why I was chosen. I asked, but all they told me was that I had great potential, and purity of heart. While I am not always so sure of the latter, I can't say they were wrong about the former, considering the results.

And so I was granted my magical rod, and set upon my task. The power... I'm not sure how to describe it. The feeling of it flooding into you. One moment you're a small girl who's bad at sports. Next you can take on the world. Or rather; take on anyone who would take on the world. I have never tried drugs, or alcohol, or so much as smoked a cigarette, but I wonder if the rush you get is anything similar to what I got. I feel like intoxicating is the best way to describe it, even if I don't exactly have anything to compare it to. I got used to it, though. Soon enough it just felt right. How things were supposed to be.

I'm not going to claim it wasn't hard. I gave it all I had. But even with the hard parts, it felt like an adventure. To preteen me it was hard to process all of it as real and dangerous. Of course I still got scared, but I trusted in myself and my power. I'm not sure I would have that same confidence if I had to do it today.

I would go out on patrol to look for signs of trouble. The Guardians would contact me directly if anything big was detected. I beat up the bad guys, defeated the big threats, and kept the world safe.

I used to watch magical girl shows as a kid. ... maybe I still do, occasionally. And it wasn't quite like those. There was no mascot. No team. No mentor. It was as if the rod, or the magic, itself imbued me with the knowledge I needed, I only needed to tap into it. And I took to it like a fish to water. I was good at it. So it was only me, and what the Guardians told me to do. Since meeting the spirit that gave me the rod on the very first night, I've never actually seen the Guardians, or anyone related to them. I know their voices, how they feel in my mind. But there was never any further physical manifestation. I was alone.

It didn't bother me much at the time. I was too caught up in it, I think. And satisfied with the praise I received for doing good. Pleased with the big secret I was keeping. It's only in hindsight I wish I'd had someone else to team up with. Someone to confide in.

I honestly don't know if there are, or were, other magical girls. I certainly never met any, but it would be weird if there wasn't someone covering other parts of the world. I could travel vast distances in a short amount of time, and even went to other countries a few times, but I never covered the whole globe. So it would make sense that they had someone else in those places, right?

When I was 12, it all ended. Just short of two and a half years. I defeated a giant extra-dimensional horror come to devour our sun, and the next day I was told it was over. I didn't understand. I still don't understand. How could it just be over? Whenever I defeated a big threat, it was only a matter of time until the next one showed up. But now they were telling me it was over? How could that be? Yet all they would tell me was that the world was no longer in peril. Had I defeated every evil creature in existence? That seemed unlikely. But they insisted no more would be coming.

I didn't believe them at first, so I kept on patrolling. There had been lulls before. Quiet periods where nothing happened, until suddenly the next threat arrived. So I stayed vigilant. For a while. By the time I turned 13, I had started to believe the Guardians were right. I haven't heard from them again since they said it was all over. Nothing has come. Nothing is coming. Sometimes I have wondered if nothing is coming because they know I am here. I defeated everything that came, so maybe the rest are afraid to come. I don't know. Maybe that's just hubris, and I'm rating myself too highly.

You know, I didn't even have a name. Not an official one. There was no title to come with my power. Only the power itself. But since I looked up to Sailor Moon, I thought of myself as Sailor Terra. The unofficial tenth sailor scout. I don't know if anyone I defeated knew. Or cared. At least not for long. A lot of those things probably didn't even understand any Earth languages. With a few exceptions, they weren't much for conversation.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it. Of course I am happy that the world is safe. That's what I was fighting for. But it was an adventure. It was a purpose. It was something I was good at. Really good at. When it was over I had to go back to living a normal life, somehow.

And unfortunately it turns out I'm not very good at anything else.

* * *

Argh!

I fall on my butt.

I defeated a Dark Lord within 24 hours of him reaching our planet, yet it's taken me a week to try to learn this one dance step. How is that fair?

"Are you okay, Aya-san?"

I look up, and see Yamato Maya. Our group's drummer, and one of my close friends.

"Yeah," I reply. "Just getting a little frustrated, I suppose, haha."

She offers me a hand up, and I take it. I keep being awed by her strength, as she pulls me up like it's nothing. I guess you build up some muscle when you work backstage.

"You almost had it that time," she says, and shows me an encouraging smile.

"Yeah, almost..." I glance over at another of our friends, Hikawa Hina, who is effortlessly moving through the choreography. And I feel a stab of envy.

Seems Maya-chan notices where I look. "You shouldn't compare yourself to Hina-san, Aya-san. I don't think anyone should, eheh," she says with an awkward laugh.

Maya-chan is remarkably observant, and she seems to have a knack for saying the right thing at the right time. Not to mention how practical and knowledgeable she can be. In a sense she is often the backbone of our band. Even if she can also be easily flustered at times.

And she's right, of course. Hina-chan is some sort of genius, and seems to figure out anything she's asked to do in no time at all. None of us can match her. Least of all me.

After being a magical girl was over, I wondered what to do next. After thinking about it a little, I remembered a dream I had when I was younger. To be an idol. I figured that since I had been such a natural at being a magical girl, I would take to being an idol just as easy. Turns out I was wrong. I haven't given up though. Even though I was good at it, I still worked really hard at being a magical girl. So I am determined to do the same for being an idol. I have given it all I've got, and I think I'm getting better. It's just much slower progress. Thankfully both my friends, and our fans help keep my spirits up.

I joined a talent agency specifically to work towards being an idol. Though I didn't make much headway until I was told to be part of a new project they were doing: an idol band. They scouted four people from various branches of the agency, and put us together. Creating Pastel*Palettes.

We had a rough start. None of us knew each other, and some of us were... a bit harder to work with than others. That is all behind us, so I won't name names. At first we were only supposed to mime playing our instruments, while our concerts were actually done with playback audio. So we practised looking the part more than actually playing the part. We still practised together, but we lacked cohesion. When things went wrong with our first concert, we nearly broke apart entirely. But we've pulled through. And now I'm proud to call them all dear friends of mine.

Maya-chan is our drummer, as I mentioned. She was not originally part of the plan, she was supposed to be a stand-in while they looked for our actual fifth member. But Chisato-chan saw promise in her, and she joined the band. I think we're all glad she did.

Hina-chan is our guitarist. While she can be a bit strange, she has grown a lot since we first met. But she can still be a bit strange.

"You're looking very delicious today, Aya-chan~!"

* * *

"Chisato-chan."

"Hm? What is it, Aya-chan?"

"Could we... um... talk a bit? In private?"

She gives me a puzzled look. "Alright. In here."

I make sure the door is closed.

"What's the matter, Aya-chan?"

"Um... Hina-chan keeps saying I look delicious... is... is she also a vampire?"

Chisato-chan blinks, and then sighs.

"No... no, I'm afraid that's my fault." She gives me an apologetic look. "She overheard me saying it that one time, and I think she's just copying me. I apologise. But Hina-chan is not a vampire."

I feel tears threatening to come forth. "B-but... why did you say it? Are you-"

"No. No, it's just... you're so fun to tease, Aya-chan. Hina-chan probably feels the same way."

She scratches at her cheek, and at least she has the decency to look a little embarrassed.

Shirasagi Chisato is another of my bandmates, and friends. She plays the bass. We're also kinda dating. It's still in the trial stage. Oh, and she's a vampire. I accidentally found out, and she decided to tell me all about it. She says she doesn't eat people, or even drink blood. Which sounds a bit odd, but she's very insistent. I've seen her eat normal food, so it could be true, but I also feel like she isn't telling me the whole story. Even so, I promised to keep her secret. I have one of my own, after all. And then she asked me out.

I'm not going to lie by claiming that she doesn't make me nervous at all, but she has done a lot for us. I want to think that I can trust her. I think she's a good person. But still...

"You're cute when you pout, Aya-chan." She smiles at me.

She can be a bit of a bully.

"Mmmmph! This isn't solving the problem. What do I do about Hina-chan?" I ask her.

"Have you tried asking her to stop?"

I haven't, as I wanted to check with Chisato-chan first. "Do you think she'll listen?"

"... you could try."

"Hey, I heard that pause!"

She starts laughing. What a bully. Hmph.

* * *

"Good morning, Aya-san!"

"Good morning, Eve-chan."

Wakamiya Eve is the final member of our group. She plays the keyboard, and before Pastel*Palettes she was a model for the agency. It's easy to see why, as she is easily the prettiest of us all. She's half-Finnish, and lived in Finland most of her life before moving here. So she has some of that exotic foreigner look that photographers love. She still does some modelling gigs, and watching her in action truly shows how professional she can be.

I wonder if she gets that discipline from her bushido. See, Eve is really into Japanese culture. The traditional stuff. Tea ceremonies, flower arrangement, and bushido among others. She really looks up to the samurai. Though I feel like her image of them, and her interpretation of bushido, does not entirely line up with what reality was like. But I don't have the heart to try to explain that to her. Eve is such a pure soul. It might be for the best that she's striving for an ideal rather than pursuing a reality. After all, can't the same be said for me? I might never reach my image of a perfect idol, but I'd rather keep striving towards that, than settle for something less. Even if it would be more realistic.

I have clashed with Chisato-chan on that a couple of times. She's the more practical type.

"Are you ready for today's lesson?" Eve-chan asks me.

We're just working on choreography today. "Yup! I managed to nail it at home last night!" So I'm pretty confident I can replicate it here today. It might take me a while to get something, but once I've got it, I've got it. Usually. Seeing my hard work actually pay off is another part of what has kept me going.

"That's great!" Eve-chan says cheerfully. "I think I've got it now, too."

I feel like I saw her do it perfectly two days ago, but I'm not going to point that out. Her confidence is too cute.

We're using batons today. We don't use them on stage as much as regular idols, since we have our instruments, but they're still good for practice. I get mine out of my bag.

"Aya-san? What's that?" Eve-chan suddenly asks.

I don't get what she means, until I look at what's in my hand. Oh. Pink handle. Yellow star. Golden lines with tiny script. This isn't my baton. "Uh... this is..."

"Huh. Is that a magical girl rod?"

Maya-chan has wandered closer. I guess she noticed. "Uh... I mean..."

Shit.

Finding out Chisato-chan was a vampire was a shock. Even with all that I've seen, I hadn't thought they really existed. I'm not sure why. But I guess my time fighting made me believe that anything supernatural came from outside this world? I hadn't considered that anything from our myths might be real.

But thinking about all of that made me reminisce about the past, and I took my rod back out last night. Just to have a look at it again. So many memories in this thing. I'm not sure how it ended up in my bag.

"What is it? Let me see!" Suddenly Hina-chan is right on top of me. "Whooaaa! Pretty! Can I hold it?"

"Uh..."

She snatches it away before I can answer. "Coooool!"

"Hina-chan! Give it back! Ah, be careful!" I try to grab it, but Hina-chan's swinging it around.

"Hina-san, please calm down." Thankfully Maya-chan steps in to help me, and gets the rod back for me.

"Thank you, Maya-chan," I say, deeply grateful. Oh no, am I about to cry again?

Hina-chan doesn't look pleased, but she still says: "Sorry, Aya-chan..." I think she means it.

I hold it close to my chest. "It's important to me," I say.

"I guess it's not surprising you would be into magical girls, Aya-san," Maya-chan says. "But I haven't seen that design before. What's it from?"

"Uh... some show I watched years ago... I was lucky enough to get a limited edition." It's all I'm able to think of off the top of my head. "I... don't know how it ended up in my bag, ahaha..." At least that last part is true.

I don't think Hina-chan would have been able to break it, but if she had somehow managed to activate it, it would have been a disaster. It shouldn't be possible. I was specifically chosen. It should only work for me. But with Hina-chan, who knows?

I notice Chisato-chan is giving me an odd look. She hasn't said anything during what just happened. I have a bad feeling about this.

* * *

"Aya-chan." As I feared, Chisato-chan approaches me when we're done for the day. "Can we talk?"

"Uh... I should-"

"Aya-chan." I can hear the reprimand in her voice.

"Sure," I say with resignation.

We go to a private room.

Chisato-chan makes sure the door is locked. "Aya-chan, that rod... it's not a toy, is it." And gets right down to business. It doesn't sound like a question.

"W-what do you mean?"

"I can tell when I look at it, Aya-chan. I have a sense for these things."

"Uh..."

"You know my secret. Are you really going to keep one from me?"

She's got me there.

"Sorry, Chisato-chan," I say. "I guess there's no use denying it. Yes, it's a real magical girl rod."

Chisato-chan's eyebrows rise. "Then, you're... a magical girl?"

"Used to be," I say simply. Maybe a little sadly.

She cocks her head to the side. "Used to be?"

"All that was over years ago. I'm not needed any longer." Do I sound bitter? I hope not.

She puts a hand to her chin. "Then it's true... it can be hard to tell how serious my mother is..." It's little more than a mumble, so maybe she didn't even intend to say that out loud. She looks up at me. "Could you show me?"

"Huh?" I'm not sure that's a good idea. As far as I know, the power is still there, but...

"Please?"

I didn't expect to hear that word. And I can't say I'm not a little tempted. "Alright, but... you don't have high-speed vision or anything like that, right?"

"Huh? No. Why?" She looks as confused as she sounds.

Because even though the transformation only takes like a second in real time, there is a whole transformation sequence in there if you can see it slowed down. And for just a moment I am completely naked. "Uh, no reason. Stand back a little, please." Someone getting caught in the magic field of the transformation could be bad.

Let's see if I remember how this works. "Guardian of Earth, let light surge!"

Something like that. Technically I don't have to say anything, but I thought it was cool at the time, and it helped me focus.

Ah. I can feel it. Here it comes. It's still in there, waiting to be let out, and to flow into me. The rush goes right to my head, making me feel giddy. I'm not sure why they let me keep it. Because they trusted me? In case it should ever be needed again? But I can't deny feeling relieved that they did. It'll always be there for me.

My body glows as my outfit manifests onto me, crafted from pure magic. It may not look very hardy, but this stuff can stop a truck. And more. It's saved my life many times, though I'm not sure if I really realised the danger back then. Maybe that's the reason magical girls tend to be so young. So they don't know better. But it always turned out okay, somehow.

And then it's complete, and I'm ready to take on anything the universe could throw at me. Even new dance choreography.

"Wow..." The amazement in Chisato-chan's voice sounds genuine. Maybe she's also into magical girls?

"It's been like four years since I last did this. What do you think?" I ask.

"You're like a completely different person," she says.

"Yeah, I guess I look pretty different, huh?"

"Not just that, you... feel different too. More confident. And I can sense the power in you, almost like it radiates outwards. Nothing like the Aya-chan I know."

"Hey!" She's still a bully.

"Ah, sorry. It's just... really impressive. I never imagined..." She seems to finally gather some of her composure again, and clears her throat. "Anyway. Your outfit looks a lot like..."

"Sailor Moon. Yeah, I know." It is pretty much that, but with a pink skirt. So more like Chibi-Usa, I suppose. Maybe a little more princess-inspired. I wanted it to match my hair. "It's like... the appearance of the outfit is governed by my own will. And I really admired Sailor Moon, so the outfit shaped itself after that. I could probably change it if I really wanted to, but this has become natural to me."

"I see..." She takes a seat. "So what happened? You said you used to be."

"Ah. Well." I sit down too. "As I said, I was told there's no need for me any longer. I defeated everything, the world is saved, and no more threats are coming."

She raises an eyebrow. "Really?"

"That's what they told me." I puff my chest out. "You may find this hard to believe, but I was really good at it."

"You're right, I do find it hard to believe," she says. No pause, no hesitation.

"You're so mean." I don't mean to huff, or pout, but I can't stop myself.

"Forgive me, Aya-chan. But we've worked together a while now, and I've seen what you're usually like."

I can't really argue with that. "Yeah, I know..." I sigh deeply. "Turns out that being a great magical girl doesn't come with any transferable skills. It's not like I have any proof either, and I can't exactly demonstrate..."

"Hm... you bring up a point... what about proof?" It's like she's thinking out loud. "I don't mean that you're a magical girl, I can plainly see, and feel that," she hastily adds. "But I also grew up in this area this time around, and there weren't exactly a lot of stories about a magical girl floating around. Yet someone had to have seen you, right? And in this day and age everyone carries a camera."

I'm not sure I like the way she said that, but it's not like she's wrong. Even 4-5 years ago everyone had smartphones, or if they were holdouts, flip-phones that could take pictures.

"Well, I didn't do much work in this exact area. I travelled to wherever the forces of evil showed up, you know?" If everyone had just come directly to where I lived, that would have been handy, but also scary. Being able to cross the country in mere minutes was a must. "And..."

I try to explain this as well as I remember it. I didn't exactly pay super close attention to the theoretical stuff back then, and I'm sure some things have faded in the past four years. I asked the Guardians: " _What if I'm seen?_ " And the answer was more or less: " _Try not to._ " Which was a lot easier said than done, especially in the beginning. So I'm sure some of those reported sightings you see online of magical girls are of me, and aren't just made up. But travelling around to different places helped spread the load, so to speak, and not every battle took place in a well-populated area, or even on this plane of existence.

Additionally any damage caused in our battles was repaired afterwards, as if by magic. Okay, actually by magic. At the time my reaction was basically: " _Yeah, of course that's how it works._ " It's how a lot of the actual magical girl shows do it, you know? Can't exactly leave ruins, and broken lives behind. So there was never any physical evidence that anything had happened afterwards. That felt like how it should be to 10-year-old me, and I never questioned it. It's really only in hindsight I realise how amazing that was.

Any injuries I got were also fixed. That probably helped make me more reckless than I should have been. I took some nasty blows. If I had been left with wounds, bruises, and such that my family could have seen... another thing I didn't think of at the time. I appreciate not being left with scars, though. Would have made becoming an idol even more difficult.

Plus there was another thing that the magic took care of.

"Try taking a picture of me," I say, and get up. I take a firm stance, legs apart, and hands on my hips. Back straight, and head held high.

"Alright," Chisato-chan says, and takes out her phone. "You don't have to do the pose, though."

I disagree. "Yes, I do."

She giggles. "Okay, say cheese." The snap goes off. "Huh?" She tries again. And again. "Aya-chan?" The confusion in her eyes is evident.

I can't help feeling a little smug. "See?"

It's impossible to get photographic evidence of me when I'm transformed. The magic ruins it, reducing it to mere static. Any pictures just become static, and the same with video. Though I think with video it's only static for the duration I'm in it. I don't think it actually damages the camera. Maybe I should have considered that before I asked Chisato-chan to take a picture. But it seems I was right.

This happens even if I'm just in the background. If any part of me, no matter how small it might be, is in the shot, it becomes corrupted. I'm sure there's more than one time I've ruined a picture or filming just by being somewhere in the background, even as a small dot, or just as a reflection. Whenever I rescued someone, and was actually close enough for them to see me, I had to ask them to please not tell anyone. Even when I kinda wanted the attention, I accepted that as part of my responsibility. I'm sure not everyone kept their promise, but none of them had any proof. Though I'm actually not sure whether my features were obscured in any way, or if someone might recognise me if they saw me today. Oh, I hope not. Oh no. I really hope not. Maybe I should have worn a mask. Another thing I didn't think of at the time.

"Even seeing you like this, it's hard to believe it all," Chisato-san says. "It's just so... fantastical."

"Says the vampire."

"Hah. Touché." Her mouth turns into a smirk. "But... forgive me if I'm being presumptuous, but you don't seem very happy."

Hit the nail on the head. I might have even flinched in reaction. "I mean... I'm happy the world is safe. I truly am. And I'm glad I did it. Or helped do it. It's just..."

"Just?"

"I had a purpose. Something I was good at. Something I got praised for. Outside of that, I'm not very good at anything... so this is all I'm left with."

"Aha, I see. But you're getting better. In spite of everything, you're sticking to your dream." Her smile is kinder than I'm used to seeing. "You're still special, Aya-chan."

I smile back, and kinda feel like crying. "I should probably..." I take a moment to focus, and release the power again. It's always weird when it goes away, as if it leaves me a little empty. But better to do it now, than accidentally walk out of here like this. I pack the rod back into my bag. Gotta make sure to take it out, and put it back in its case when I get home. If Chisato-chan could tell from just looking at it... "I wonder... if both vampires and magical girls are real, what else do you think might be?"

I look over at Chisato-chan, and suddenly she looks a little uncomfortable.

"Chisato-chan?"

"I'm... not sure how much I can tell you..."

"Huh?" So she knows something? "What is it? You're the one who told me not to keep secrets."

"Ugh..." She looks really conflicted. "My mother would kill me if I told you everything. Or even anything. We live for a very long time, so of course we find out a lot of things, and we share information with others whenever we can..."

I blink. She seems serious. "H-hey, if it's that big of a deal..."

"It... kinda is. I'm sorry, Aya-chan." She looks torn enough that I feel bad for even asking. "Oh! I suppose there is one thing I can tell you. I don't think it's related to how you became a magical girl, considering the timing... but it might be a good thing to be aware of. Roughly 13 years ago, while I was still quite young in this form, there was an incident."

I take a seat again. "An incident?"

"Yes. We call it a triggering event. It's not the first time it's happened, and it probably won't be the last, but they're rare."

"Triggering event?"

"What's the best way to describe it..." She folds her arms, and starts tapping her fingers against her sleeves. "As far as we know, there always exists human beings born with a certain potential. A triggering event unleashes that potential."

"As far as you know?"

"It's not exactly something that's easy, or ethical, to do much research on."

"Oh..." I think I get what she means. "What sort of potential?"

"They gain special abilities. Things beyond normal human capabilities. Superhuman stuff, to put it simply."

"Huh? But that's impossible."

She laughs. "Do I need to remind you who's in the room?"

"Oh... right." I really need to stop being surprised by these things. "But what causes the event?"

"We... don't know."

"You don't?"

She looks a little embarrassed. "Unfortunately not. We don't know what causes it, why, how it happens, or even what determines whether someone gets a potential or not. I said it's rare, and I meant it. Every couple of centuries, maybe. But it can be felt by those sensitive to those things. Which we vampires are."

"But... if it's happened before... wouldn't there be some records of it?"

"There are, if you know what to look for." She shows me a clever smile. "A lot of myths have a grain of truth to them, you know? Some origin point. And not everything gets written down. And even among that which is, texts can get destroyed, or go missing. Plus it's hard for people to take such stories seriously. Most people want to believe the world is mundane. Until now it hasn't happened at a time where people can actually get real evidence of it. So I'm kinda curious to see how it plays out."

"Huh..." First vampires, now this. It's a bit much to take in. Says the magical girl. "Can you tell who?"

She sighs. "I wish it were that simple. Certain abilities give themselves away, but for the vast majority of them you can't tell unless you see it in action. I'm not aware of anyone so far."

It's starting to sink in. "So anyone I see on the street could be a superhuman..."

"Not quite. In the past everyone we have discovered have been within the same age range. Usually within five years of one another. So our current best theory is that it affects those below the age of five."

"Below the age of..." Let's see. Maths isn't my strongest point, but she said thirteen years ago, plus five... "W-wait." My eyes go wide. "D-doesn't that mean basically everyone at school?" That would encompass almost all of both middle and high school. She nods at me. "So our schoolmates could be..." She nods again. "How many?"

"Hard to say. Maybe just a handful. Maybe one in ten. Or more."

"W-w-what?" If it was that many, surely we would know. Right?

"The thing is... most of them are basically harmless. Maybe some of them don't even know they have anything special. What data we have has recorded people who just have slightly faster minds, or really good reflexes. Beyond normal human capability, but they wouldn't stand out to someone who's had them most of their life. It just seems normal to them. Only a few seem to get abilities that truly stand out as such."

"I thought you said you couldn't do research?" I'm fairly certain she said that, at least.

"I said it's not always ethical. There are still some things you can do. And... uh... not everyone is as concerned with ethics... unfortunately."

"Ah..." I'm not sure I want to think too closely about that. "And you don't know anyone?"

"I have some suspicions, but nothing I'm certain of. Not enough that I want to say."

Magical girls, vampires, and now superhumans. Another thing to be on the lookout for. Even if I try not to, I'm not sure I'll be able to help myself.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it, Aya-chan," she says to me. Did she read my mind? Or maybe just my expression. "Nothing serious has happened so far, right? So I don't think we have to worry about anything dangerous."

I cheer up a little, and do my best to smile. Maybe she's right.

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah. Big lore dump. My apologies to anyone who was hoping for some cosy, fluffy Aya/Chisato content. Only exposition this time, I'm afraid. Decided to finally take the plunge, and solidify some of the lore of this setting, now that I had some means to do so. Maybe some people would have preferred it to stay a mystery.


End file.
